Numbers updated for Berlin Boylston schools

Friday

BOYLSTON – As the school committees approach the fiscal year 2019 budget deadlines, the numbers regularly get updated and adjusted, based on new information, state figures and other changing details.

Director of Financial Service Robert Conry updated the Berlin and Boylston school committees Tuesday, noting Boylston Elementary’s budget appears to be up 11.8 percent, Berlin’s 4.6 percent and the region’s 3.9 percent.

As part of that, the regional split will affect Boylston more, with a 7.3 percent increase versus Berlin’s 0.4 percent decrease. This has been consistent with Boylston’s increase in student population relative to Berlin’s in the past few years.

“There are some large class sizes in Boylston that are driving that,” Conry said. The figures could later level off or decline, “with Berlin picking up a larger share.”

Conry also said “we inherited a difficult situation” and new expenses with 2.2 percent contract increases the last five years.

There is a perception that Boylston is under funded, to meet school needs, School Committee member Lorie Martiska, of Boylston, said.

“There are some questions we have to address,” Conry said. “Some challenges and some work to do.” she said.

Using the schools’ Excess and Deficiency, or “free cash” is also not a long-term solution to fund yearly budgets, Conry said.

“It’s the reality of what we’re facing,” Boylston member Matthew Lozoraitis said of the budget figures.

As a School Committee, “We have to be fiscally prudent and advocate for education,” regional Chairman Clifton LaPorte said. “Sometimes those two goals collide.”

Monitoring facilities

There was a surprise on Jan. 2 when the Tahanto boiler went down and the notification procedure to alert school employees didn’t work, Conry told the Regional School Committee.

As a result, the school got very cold.

Working with the facilities director, Conry said, he detailed the notification processes, including automated notification.

The Jan. 2 problem stemmed from it being so cold the oil coagulated, Conry said, but they are working on the monitoring.

“We’re stewards of three very expensive buildings,” LaPorte said, adding it was also best not to have to cancel school because of facilities issues.

Currently, Conry said, there are a number of monitoring programs, some of which alert police and fire as well as some school officials.

For all three schools, Conry said, the districts are researching the options and costs for having critical building systems monitored and tracked by a central station.

Technology

Students could get more computer coding instruction in the future. Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Zanghi said there is a need for coding courses “the way we used to think about typing,” as a course offered everyone.

State changes may include computer coding and it’s “important to get ahead of the curve,” Zanghi said, working with existing STEM initiatives as well.

The digital learning initiative is getting some help, Technology Coordinator Paul Mara said, with the addition of three Chromebook carts at Tahanto, funded through the Rural Schools Grant, added to the one existing cart.

“We’re trying to get more access at the high school” to match existing technology at the lower grades, he said.

The three added carts are “still just a dent” in the needs, Mara said. As technology is replaced, he said more mobile devices would be added, trying to get closer to the one-to-one student-to-device goal.

“Once they’re out of eighth grade they don’t have the device in front of them all the time,” Mara said.

That can impact some learning and test taking if students are not familiar with using the technology as part of their regular testing. By 2020, MCAS tests will all be computer based, but Mara said the existing shared equipment can meet that goal. It is just that the students aren’t using the equipment regularly enough to be as familiar with it as they should be come test time.

Regionalization

Martiska said the regionalization subcommittee has been getting good feedback, including questions and input as the board presented to groups in Berlin and Boylston, including the two boards of selectmen.

“The process is extremely educational,” Martiska said. “People tried to be very helpful,” with tips and suggestions.

“We definitely are learning a ton,” she said.

“You demonstrated it is still a work in progress,” Boylston member Jim Spencer said, suggesting people share more personal aspects of how regionalization could affect students an education.

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